Dna May Solve Pollution Mystery

HARRISONBURG — State scientists plan to use DNA fingerprinting to find the source of water pollution in southwestern Rockingham County.

The research could help the scientists develop cleanup plans for a stream and for polluted wells in Virginia's heavily farmed regions.

``Is it poultry? Is it cattle? Is it septic tanks leaking? Is it something else, or is it a combination'' causing the problems, asked Charles H. Martin, an environmental engineer with the state Department of Environmental Quality.

``Through the DNA fingerprinting, we should be able pretty quickly to detect the source.''

The state is embarking on a 12-year plan to clean up 14 polluted sections of streams across the state. State officials are starting first with a 10-mile stretch of Muddy Creek because pollution and agriculture are intense in that region.

A recent report to the DEQ by University of Virginia environmental engineer Shaw L. Yu said the stream, called Muddy Creek, and about 60 nearby wells are polluted with potentially dangerous chemicals called nitrates.

Nitrates come from animal waste, fertilizer and sewage.

``This has been a high priority area for us for many years,'' said Stu Wilson, a pollution specialist with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

State experts will develop separate plans for reducing nitrates and fecal bacteria in the stream. They will attack the bacteria first, but that effort should help reduce nitrates, too, Martin said.

The state would need a federal grant of about $30,000 to go forward with the DNA fingerprinting, and federal officials seem receptive, Martin said. Under the plan, scientists at the DEQ would take samples of polluted water this fall and send them to experts at the University of Washington.

The Washington scientists would match the genetic characteristics of the bacteria with the characteristics of cattle, chickens and other animals to find what is causing the problem.

Martin said he knew of only one similar use of DNA fingerprinting in Virginia, when a Virginia Tech professor proved a few years ago that raccoons were polluting Eastern Shore oyster grounds.

Unlike DNA fingerprinting in criminal cases, which matches crime scene evidence with a specific person, the river research will simply note the type of polluter.

``We just want to know if it's a chicken, a cow, a human or something else,'' Martin said.

Once DEQ officials know what is contaminating the water, they will know how to prevent the pollution.

For example, if the problem is caused by someone improperly applying chicken waste on farmland, the state could offer financial incentives to manage the waste better.

Such solutions could reduce nitrates as well as bacteria, Martin said.

Even if the pollution were reduced at its source, it could take years for contaminants to break down or flush out of underground water, Martin said. The stream should cleanse itself much quicker.